Barcelona have the most electrifying attack in world football this season after Hansi Flick took the reigns from Xavi and made this show his own. The Blaugrana have four of the best attacking players in La Liga right now in Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, and Robert Lewandowski.
With a commanding lead in the league after their 4-0 drubbing of Real Madrid in El Clasico, Barcelona have a lot of momentum in mid-November, even if their most recent match was a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad.
Yamal is undoubtedly the star of the show, but Lewandowski has been leading the line excellently as Europe’s top goal scorer, proving many people, including within his own fanbase, horribly wrong when they declared him “finished”.
Before the season started, a possible transfer for Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, who has always been thought to desire a future move to a Spanish giant, was mentioned frequently in rumors.
Haaland is said to be one of the top dream targets for Barcelona president Joan Laporta, as the club were evidently working behind the scenes to try and save enough money for a 2026 Haaland transfer, viewing the Norwegian as the ultimate replacement for Lewandowski.
And it would be quite the passing of the torch, for one former Bundesliga superstar to replace another – the best pure striker of this generation filling the shoes of the best striker of the last generation at the club most well-known for its scoring delight.
Now, though, it appears Barcelona are downplaying their interest in a striker splash, as sporting director Deco told Mundo Deportivo that the Blaugrana aren’t viewing the striker position as a priority:
“First we have to know whether Haaland is what we want for the future. We don’t know that now. At the moment we don’t want any ‘nine.’ We have Robert [Lewandowski.] We are not planning anything with any ‘nine.’ It’s not a priority because we have to focus on this season.”
Lewandowski, of course, isn’t the only big-name striker linked to Barcelona. Recently, Sporting CP’s prolific goal-scorer Viktor Gyokeres has been mentioned as a possible replacement for the Polish legend.
Gyokeres is a fast-riser and a new breakout star with big links to the Premier League’s elite, but he’s 26 and actually a few years older than Haaland despite being less established – and from Barca’s perspective, he may not be all that much cheaper either.
So it is, therefore, unsurprising that Deco has a similarly lukewarm take on the possibility of Barcelona signing the Swedish superstar:
“Gyokeres is a good player. He has been scoring goals for some time in Portugal. We know him as we know others but it’s not a priority for us right now.”
“When the time comes to make a decision and I have to make it because I am the one at the club, we will consider the options. But I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about any player.”
Now, Deco obviously isn’t going to come right out and tell the whole world what Barca’s plans are. He could very well be planning a splash for a top striker without telling anyone.
But Deco and Barcelona also know that it’s better to invest in their own young talent rather than spend 100 million euros on someone else’s, and after only being able to afford one blockbuster 2024 transfer in Olmo, the same may be the case in 2025 and 2026.
Thus, Barcelona may only be able to prioritize one position in the attack, and with Lewandowski outperforming every other striker in the world right now, that position may be a right-footed winger like Laporta’s dream guy Leao or top 2024 target Nico Williams.
